Published 6 September 20096 September 2009 · Main Posts a poet is born Overland Overloaded One of the great things about a first-time and ‘grassroots’ project such as Overland Overloaded is that as you walk down the street shouting about it, people always come out of their houses to stare. Some of them just look bemused, but others pull on their sneakers and join in the chaos. Today, the Overland Overloaded team is joined by Koraly Dimitriadis. Koraly is a Melbourne writer, currently redrafting her first novel Xenos, a draft of which was shortlisted for the Northern Notes Pitch Competition in 2008. Koraly is currently mentored by novelist Christos Tsiolkas and an article of hers will appear in the Emerging Writers Festival Reader later this year (alongside work from Overland Overloaded bloggers Maxine Clarke and Simonne Michelle-Wells). Koraly participated in the Overland Progressive Writers Masterclass earlier this year. She is also the mother to a young toddler, and her below poem is the first of a series of ‘poeranting’ poems written by Overland Overloaded bloggers. Koraly will join the Overland Overloaded team again later this week to review Wednesday night’s Overload Allstars at the Northcote Social Club. A poet is born You know you are a poet, when you’re writing poems at five. The words are sewn together, by an uncontrollable thread of insanity. Your child says her first words, and the notepad is there but you’re not. There is banging of your head against a computer with internal bleeding. Words slice at your craft like stop chasing dreams and onirevese. And words sound egotistical like Papa, afise me I’ve got talent. Then there are those looks like whose gonna care what you say? and get a real job. And one has to contemplate slicing the trembling hand to fucking stop but the thoughts still rhyme. Overland Overloaded More by Overland Overloaded › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays First published in Overland Issue 228 8 September 202326 September 2023 · Main Posts Announcing the 2023 Judith Wright Poetry Prize ($9000) Editorial Team Established in 2007 and supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize for New and Emerging Poets seeks poetry by writers who have published no more than one collection of poems under their own name (that is writers who’ve had zero collections published, or one solo collection published). It remains one of the richest prizes for emerging poets, and is open to poets anywhere in the world. In 2023, the major prize is $6000, with a second prize of $2000 and a third prize of $1000. All three winners will be published in Overland. First published in Overland Issue 228 8 September 202315 September 2023 · Main Posts Announcing the 2023 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize ($6500) Editorial Team Supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, and named after the late Neilma Gantner, this prize seeks excellent short fiction of up to 3000 words themed around the notion of ‘travel’; imaginative, creative and literary interpretations are strongly encouraged. This competition is open to all writers, nationally and internationally, at any stage of their writing career.